To the editor,
On May 12, 2015 I received a letter from the Secretary of State’s Office on approval of my petition to run for burgess in the upcoming Nov. 3, 2015 election as an Unaffiliated candidate. I am so grateful to the citizens of Naugatuck and, if elected, I will serve you assertively, sincerely and with the utmost compassion and with the God-driven talents he has blessed me with to help the people of this town.
Being a burgess is being the foundation of Naugatuck, and it would be an honor and privilege to be elected.
Whoever is elected mayor I will respect them and the position, but make it known I will be vocal and a very, very assertive and respectful burgess for the people. I will challenge the system. I am not afraid or fearful. It’s for the people I will be working for, not for a party, group or individual. I am an independent thinker and do my homework/research before I make a decision. I am not perfect, my background is in architectural and mechanical design, construction project management, nurse assistant, an advocate for grandparents’ rights and for grandparents and parents of Autistic children. I also worked in factories of steel rolling mills, steel rebar mills and ball bearing factories, which has led me to be street smart for all people with the common sense and common logic approach.
Before moving here back in 2009 from Waterbury (and lived in many towns in Connecticut) I ran against Senator Hartley back in 2004 and then ran for Board of Alderman shortly thereafter. I am no stranger to politics. I know the political arena, but I am what God has made me — an independent thinker.
What do I see here in Naugatuck:
Out of 169 towns in Connecticut (No.1 being the lowest in property taxes and No. 169 being the highest) Naugatuck is 165th.
Wastewater treatment facility is loosing contracts. We’re locked into a 20-year contract with Veolia Water North America to run and manage our facilities while other cities and towns are taking back their facilities and running/managing them themselves or selling off to New Haven Water Pollution Authority due to high costs by Veolia and other private corps that make enormous profits from cities. And why don’t we purchase water from Waterbury? It has an abundance amount of reservoirs and it would be cheaper than Connecticut Water Co. rates. I know I lived in Waterbury.
Grade configuration is priority over building more schools. It’s a proven fact by studies from long term principles/administrators — renovate existing schools. I renovated Prendergast Elementary School in Ansonia.
Education system. In Wisconsin union pay scales are no longer in place. We need to cut thru union rhetoric and implement a new performance-based pay system throughout and eliminate tenure. Have us citizens ever have a guarantee job for life. Sorry to say but it’s about time. These fixed costs are killing the towns’ educational budgets. Teachers are the meat and potatoes of our education system. Administrators and principals are overhead, some necessary, some not. We should not be giving out union bonuses every so often and increases for getting more college courses. Enough is enough.
In the six years I’ve lived here, how many new businesses have come into Naugatuck? I don’t even need a whole hand to count them. This is smart growth? It’s wrong growth. I renovated the Neary Building/Salem Theatre in the early 1990s and can’t remember anything after that. And selling our properties/buildings for peanuts, what’s going on here?
Property taxes should absolutely be frozen for life for senior retired citizens immediately and have a proportional taxation system instituted immediately, paying tax at the same rate. If your home is assessed at $110,740 and your paying $4,922 in real estate taxes, say your proportional tax rate would be anywhere from 15 percent to 30 percent, take 30 percent off $4,922, which would be $1,476 off or new taxes would be $3,446, and do it now.
In summary I ask the citizens of Naugatuck to visit my new website, www.ecerasale.com, Facebook under “Emidio C.Cerasale” and/or the Grandparents Rights Association of Connecticut website.
The real character of this town is of being humble, not to humiliate and not to be arrogant. I have seen to much arrogance and humiliation in local government since I’ve been here for six years. It’s not the real Naugatuck character.
Emidio C. Cerasale
Naugatuck
